CULTURE
March 11, 2015
Page 13
Feminist Playwright’s Festival Addresses Social Stereotypes By AMANDA GIGLIO CULTURE EDITOR
As Sunday was International Women’s Day, it seems fitting that Women’s Empowerment’s Feminist Playwright’s Festival was this past weekend. Consisting of three one act plays, each written, directed and performed by Fordham students, the plays all had to do with gender, sexuality and racial issues in a feminist context. Each play brought a different topic of discussion to the front, giving variety to the show. “Rough All Around,” written and directed by Joshua Ramos, FCRH ’15, was the first play on the stage and looked at intertwining gender and racial stereotypes in present-day NYC. It focused on Alex, played by Mateo Millership, GSB ‘17, who is a minority student experiencing racial bias that parallels gender bias experiences many women face. “Rough All Around” brings to light the daily occurrences that could take place in a city, with scenes that are all too familiar for some. While this play was wellthought-out and, without sound equipment, the students were able to project their voices well, the storyline was dragged out a bit. The next play was a collection of four monologues, called “Fault Lines,” written and directed by Rachel Dougherty, FCRH ’15. Each monologue described a different experience with gender-based violence. Niara Walden, FCRH ’17,
COURTESY OF RAM ARCHIVES
Collins’ stage hosted Women’s Empowerment’s Feminist Playwright’s Festival this weekend, along with “The Laramie Project.”
played Charlie, a gender-queer person who describes the daily routine of picking out an outfit and trying to take up as little space as possible. Jamie, a gay man played by Max Beyer, FCRH ’16, details the experience of being sexually assaulted, and in similar fashion the other monologue, performed by Rachel Sternlicht, FCRH ‘17, describes being sexually assaulted by an intimate partner. The last monologue, performed by Elle Crane, FCRH ‘17, focuses on a woman being street-harassed. All four monologues describe the individual experiences of people,
Trending Now | Natalie Sturgeon
Calling All Bookworms: A Solution to Boredom Though this long winter may finally be ending, we aren’t quite out of the snow yet. But never fear, sufferers of cabin fever. Luckily, these last dregs of winter offer a great opportunity to find a cozy place and crack open a book. For those who are getting a little stir-crazy during these long cold months, grabing a book, getting on a train and finding somewhere special to read is a perfect solution. With Manhattan as close as it is, there’s no reason not to delve into all of the cozy and classic study spots the city has to offer. The New York Public Library is a personal favorite of mine. With the musky smell of old classics in the air and the beautiful renaissance decorations, the New York Public Library serves as the perfect place to transport yourself into the world of your chosen reading material. The Rose Reading Room is the most famous room in the library. With its high gold ceilings and gorgeous windows, this reading room will get rid of anyone’s cabin fever. This next place is for people who are looking for a more earthy studying experience. The David Rubenstein Atrium is an open and booming intellectual hub that offers the picture-perfect setting to buy a cappuccino and settle into your studies. With a wall of vines and plants strewn all over, the atrium provides a breath of fresh air
with a modern twist. Filled with interesting restaurants and cool events like concerts and poetry readings, the David Rubenstein Atrium makes for an impeccable escape from campus and into a fresh and modern intellectual hub. This third place is for all of my caffeine junkies. Escaping to a cute coffee shop to read a book or do some work is the perfect Sunday afternoon by anyone’s standards. Culture Espresso is an espresso bar that offers the most amazing chocolate chip cookies that enable the mentality of the “diet that starts on Monday.” As a patron, you also have a choice of whether or not you want to sit at the bar and look out into Manhattan or to cozy up into one of their booths and lose track of time. Either way, customers are spoiled with an amazing flat white and homemade, fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. With winter still dragging on like class on Fridays, cabin fever can be a real problem. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. Everything is a train ride away and just because you have schoolwork it doesn’t mean you can’t escape into a cozy coffee shop or a plethora of renaissance art. I know, for me personally, taking my mental health days and heading to Manhattan has made this sluggish winter that much more tolerable.
but culminate with a focus on the absurdity and commonness of victim-blaming. This play was by far the most chilling and thoughtprovoking of them all, beautifully performed and written.
The last play was the most comical and equally thought-provoking. “Dogma Style,” written and directed by Katherine Lichtenfels, FCRH ’17, and Molly Carney, FCRH ’18, is about a group of
high school students on a Catholic school retreat to learn about sexuality. Over the course of the play the students come to personal realizations on their own sexuality and views on relationships that challenge the church. Full of sexual puns (that were painfully obvious, but who does not like puns?) and laughs, “Dogma Style” was a great way to end the show. Nicole Chiuchiolo, FCRH ’17, made the strongest impression with her character Sam’s giant outbursts and forwardness about relationships and sex that countered the Catholic teacher’s teaching of abstinence. The only downfalls of the play were its long speeches and the redundancy of the moral of the show. Genevieve McNamara, FCRH ’17, and Eilís Russell, FCRH ’15, the student producers and coordinators of this event, did a great job of showcasing feminist plays that showed the reality of gender, sexual and racial stereotypes and violence. Women’s Empowerment put on a show that taught important lessons and was enjoyable to watch.
Editor’s Pick | Leonardo DiCaprio
Is DiCaprio to Blame for Oscar Curse? By KRISTEN SANTER ASSITANT OPINION EDITOR
Over the past few years, the public has continuously expressed outrage over Leonardo DiCaprio’s lack of an Oscar. People love to lament his loss every year he is nominated, and display genuine shock when he loses. Although the actor has amassed several Golden Globe Awards in his lengthy career, he has yet to take home arguably the most revered and respected award. At times, I wonder if people’s insistence is based off DiCaprio’s own obvious desire to win, even if he constantly dismisses these proclamations. Many believe that the time has finally come for his numerous wellreceived performances to be recognized by the highest authority in movie accolades. Huffington Post writer Michael Russnow states, “his excellence has become so expected,” that perhaps we don’t reward him because we have become accustomed to his excellent roles. Even though the Oscars do not always reward the right actor, I believe that DiCaprio’s career thus far has issued nothing worthy of receiving an Oscar. The constant praise and persistence is natural; I am not denying that he is a great actor who will most likely win the destined gold statuette in the future. The rundown of his nominated performances include What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, The Aviator, Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street. Each performance was well acted, well researched and performed with an intense exhilaration. The last three films specifically required challenging acting for any high-caliber actor. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? necessitated the portrayal of a mentally challenged boy, The Aviator required a similar performance as DiCaprio played the role of a pilot named Howard Hughes afflicted with destabilizing OCD and Blood Diamond involved the mastery of an ambitious
SHIZO KAMBAYASH/AP IMAGES
DiCaprio must devote himself fully to a difficult role to win that long awaited Oscar.
Rhodesian accent. I never considered DiCaprio’s performance in The Wolf of Wall Street even worthy of a nomination, for he is merely playing a dramatized version of his real life. The closest chance DiCaprio ever had to an Oscar was his performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? When he arrived at the 1994 Oscars, many were honestly surprised that DiCaprio was not an autistic boy. He lost himself in that role and gave his most convincing performance to date. However, I have not seen DiCaprio lose himself in a role since: there is no subtly and I have never looked at him and honestly believed character he was representing. I saw Leonardo DiCaprio acting as Howard Hughes. When I saw Lincoln for the first time, I believed I was watching Abraham Lincoln throughout his presidential career, even though the always incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis took on the role. Even Matthew Mc-
Counaghey, whom I am not a fan of, deservedly won his Oscar for his portrayal of an AIDS-afflicted Texan in Dallas Buyers Club. If anything, most of DiCaprio’s roles almost seem too much like Oscar bait. Was his performance in J. Edgar anything more than a subtle form of begging? His acting choices do not take the risks necessary to win an Oscar, and the Academy can easily see through his desperate struggle to win the title of Academy Award Winner before his name in order to boost his ego. In addition, he needs to stop asking for a minimum of $20 million per movie and find a humbling role, which redeemed the similarly selfimportant Matthew McCounaghey. Although I may sound like Vincent Cassel in Black Swan, DiCaprio needs to completely immerse and lose himself in a role if he truly wants the golden statuette he is clearly drooling over.